Tiltable crucible for refining crude iron



March 8, 1966 P. PUxKANDl.

TILTABLE GRUCIBLE FOR REFINING CRUDE IRON 2. Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May l5, 1963 INVENTOR PETER PUXKANDL H IS AT TORN EYS March 8, 1966 P. PUXKANDL 3,239,206

TILTABLE CRUCIBLE FOR REFINING cRUDE IRON Filed May l5, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR PETER PUXKANDI.

HIS ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,239,206 THLTABLE CRUCHBLE FUR RENNEN@ CRUDE IIRUN Peter lluxkandl, Linz, Austria, assigner to Vereinigte @sterreichische Eisenund Stahlwerlre Aktiengesellschaft, Linz, Austria, a Company of Austria Filed May i3, 1963, Ser. No. 280,006 Claims priority, application Austria, May 15, i962, A 3,961/62 3 Claims. (Cl. 266-36) For carrying out metallurgical processes, particularly for refining crude iron, tiltable Icrucibles or converters are known which comprise a supporting structure or trunnion ring extending round the shell of the Crucible and mounted between the protruding flanges of pairs of brackets spaced around the periphery of the Crucible. For this type of Crucible a three-point support has already been proposed, with three supporting elements in the form of pairs of brackets being provided for taking up the bearing pressure: two pairs being arranged opposite to each other in the plane of the trunnion axis, and another pair of brackets extending in another direction, preferably perpendicular to the trunnion axis. This known construction has the eminent advantage of being statically determinate. An exact calculation of the stresses thus is possible; the supporting structures which are designed as rings or as frames which are open at one side need not be over-dimensioned, but may be of a lighter construction than the statically indeterminate bearings comprising, eg., four to eight pairs of brackets spaced around the periphery of the crucible.

The aforesaid constructions have the disadvantage that in the blowing position the Crucible rests only on the two pairs of brackets disposed in the plane of the trunnions, the axis through the center of gravity also lying in said plane.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate this diiculty and to provide for a further improvement from a statically determinate point of view. According to the proposal of the invention, one supporting element is arranged in the plane of tilting of the Crucible, and two other supporting elements are arranged in radial planes perpendicular to the plane of tilting, the radial planes through the supporting elements being angularly disposed at angles of more than 90 to each other. Preferably, the radial planes through the three supporting elements are inclined at angles of 120, the points of support being located at the corners of an equilateral triangle in the horizontal plane. The supporting elements used may be pairs of brackets, axle journals, consoles or other known means which are secured to the Crucible shell, eg., by welding.

The construction according to the invention supports the Crucible at three points in all positions including the blowing position, and the axis through the center of gravity of the Crucible is located centrally within the triangle defined by the supporting elements which take up the bearing pressure.

In the accompanying drawings an illustrative embodiment of the invention is explained more in detail.

FIG. l is a vertical sectional view, FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view, and FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the Crucible according to the invention.

3,239,200 Patented Mar. 1966 An approximately horseshoeshaped trunnion ring 2 surrounds the `Crucible shell l and is rigidly connected to two trunnions 3. Mounted on the Crucible shell there are three supporting elements in the form of axle journals 4, d', 4, which consist of a at conical part 5 and a projecting journal part 6. The parts 6 may be round, or preferably angular. They are adapted to be received in Corresponding recesses 8 of the trunnion ring 2. The conical shape of the parts 5 has the advantage that an air gap 7 is provided between the trunnion ring and the Crucible shell so that there is no direct conduction of heat between the Crucible wall and the trunnion ring except at the journals 4, it and 4".

According to a further embodiment of the invention the recesses of the trunnion ring may be window-shaped, as is shown in FIG. 3. rthe height of the recesses 8 is greater than the diameter or vertical extension of the parts 6; the two recesses provided at the ends of the horseshoe-shaped trunnion ring possess stepped edges 9 and are open towards the sides l0. As a result, the` crucible can be lifted and moved out of the blowing stand by means of a movable lifting means, as is also indicated in FIG. 3.

What I claim is:

ll. A tiltable Crucible for refining crude iron comprising a Crucible shell of substantially circular cross-section, a supporting structure for said shell, axially aligned spaced trunnions extending outwardly from said supporting structure and substantially diametrically of said shell, and supporting elements extending outwardly from said shell at three spaced apart points and engaging said supporting structure to support said shell on said supporting structure, one supporting element being between and spaced equidistant from said trunnions and in a plane of tilting of said Crucible passing through the longitudinal axis thereof perpendicular to the axis of said trunnions, the other two supporting elements extending from said Crucible at points disposed in radial planes containing said axis of said Crucible and extending from the intersection of said plane of tilting and said trunnion axis, said supporting element in said plane of tilting and said points in said radial planes from which the other two supports extend being spaced apart more than from each other.

2. A Crucible as set forth in claim l wherein the radial planes through the three supporting elements are inclined at an angle of about to each other.

3. A Crucible as set forth in claim l wherein the three supporting elements are axle journals having an inner conical portion adjacent to said shell and an outer portion engaging and supporting said shell in spaced relation to said supporting structure to form an air gap between the supporting structure and the Crucible shell.

References Qited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,000,621 9/1961 Puxkandl 266--39 JOHN F. CAMPBELL, Primary Examiner.

JAMES H. TAYMAN, JR., MORRIS O. WOLK,

Examiners. 

1. A TILTABLE CRUCIBLE FOR REFINING CRUDE IRON COMPRISING A CRUCIBLE SHELL OF SUBSTANTIALLY CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION, A SUPPORTING STRUCTURE FOR SAID SHELL, AXIALLY ALIGNED SPACED TRUNNIONS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID SUPPORTING STRUCTURE AND SUBSTANTIALLY DIAMETRICALLY OF SAID SHELL, AND SUPPORTING ELEMENTS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID SHELL AT THREE SPACED APART POINTS AND ENGAGING SAID SUPPORTING STRUCTURE TO SUPPORT SAID SHELL ON SAID SUPPORTING STURCTURE, ONE SUPPORTING ELEMENT BEING BETWEEN AND SPACED EQUIDISTANT FROM SAID TRUNNIONS AND IN A PLANE OF TILTING OF SAID CRUCIBLE PASSING THROUGH THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS THEREOF PERPENDICULARLY TO THE AXIS OF SAID TRUNNIONS, THE OTHER TWO SUPPORTING ELEMENTS EXTENDING FROM SAID CRUCIBLE AT POINTS DISPOSED IN RADIAL PLANES CONTAINING SAID AXIS OF SAID CRUCIBLE AND EXTENDING FROM THE INTERSECTION OF SAID PLANE OF TILTING AND SAID TRUNNION AXIS, SAID SUPPORTING ELEMENT IN SAID PLANE OF TILTING AND SAID POINTS IN SAID RADIAL PLANES FROM WHICH THE OTHER TWO SUPPORTS EXTEND BEING SPACED APART MORE THAN 90* FROM EACH OTHER. 